Chapter Twenty-Nine

1–5. David’s donations to the building of the temple from his personal resources. 6–8. Donations of the people. 9–21. Prayer of David and sacrifice. 22–25. Second coronation of Solomon and general characterization of his reign. 26–30. Conclusion to the history of David’s reign.

1 Chronicles 29:1. And King David said to all the assembly: Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great; for the building is not for man but for the Lord God. 1 Chronicles 29:2. So with all my might I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, stones of varied colors, and all sorts of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance; 1 Chronicles 29:3. Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a private treasure of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: 1 Chronicles 29:4. three thousand talents of gold, gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the houses; 1 Chronicles 29:5. for the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating themselves to the Lord today? Occupied with the same thought about building the temple, David says to the people’s assembly that in view of the greatness of this work and the inexperience of Solomon, he has prepared throughout his life the materials necessary for the building of God’s house, and now is donating for its construction approximately 180,000 pounds of gold and 420,000 pounds of silver.

1 Chronicles 29:7. And they gave for the building of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand drachmas of gold, and ten thousand talents of silver, and eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. Among the donations of the people are mentioned, in particular, 10,000 darics of gold or, according to the Hebrew text, 10,000 “adarkonims.” The Greek translation of this word with the expression Δάρεικος gives reason to think that the issue and coining of this coin belongs to Darius Hystaspes. But according to the researches of Duncker and Mommsen, it is older than Darius, was known to the Greeks of the time of Solon. Likewise it received its name not from the name of Darius, but from the image that was on it and represented an archer shooting from a bow. The root of the word “darkon,” or “adarkon”—“darak”—means “to step,” “to advance forward,” which is usually done when drawing a bow. In view of this, the term “darak” came to be used in the meaning of “to draw a bow,” and the noun formed from it, “darkon” or “adarkon,” means “an archer” (Lévi. Geschichte der Judischen Münzen. p. 19, note 4). In view of all this, the mention of darics in the book of Chronicles cannot serve, as some think, as a sign of their origin after Ezra.

1 Chronicles 29:10. Then David blessed the Lord before all the assembly, and David said: Blessed are you, O Lord, God of Israel, our father, forever and ever! 1 Chronicles 29:11. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 1 Chronicles 29:12. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. 1 Chronicles 29:13. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29:14. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to give so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 1 Chronicles 29:15. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our ancestors were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. 1 Chronicles 29:16. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. 1 Chronicles 29:17. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness; in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offer freely and joyously to you. 1 Chronicles 29:18. O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. 1 Chronicles 29:19. Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all of them and building the house for which I have made provision. 1 Chronicles 29:20. Then David said to all the assembly: Bless the Lord your God. And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord and before the king. The value of the people’s donations lies not in the quantity of treasures collected. These latter belong not to man but to God, as the Lord of all that exists, and the surrender of them does not constitute a merit for the former. Donations are precious from the side of the love and zeal of the people toward God that were expressed in them. Such a disposition is the source of the people’s happiness (1 Chr 28:8-9), and can be preserved through the help and assistance of God himself.

1 Chronicles 29:22. They ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great rejoicing. And they made Solomon, the son of David, king a second time; they anointed him as the Lord’s prince, and Zadok as priest. The second coronation of Solomon differs from the first (1 Chr 23:1) in that it is connected with anointing. The anointing of Zadok was the beginning of his elevation above Abiathar, the descendant of Ithamar. The latter in the very first years of Solomon’s reign was stripped of his office and removed to Anathoth (1 Kgs 2:26).

1 Chronicles 29:23. Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of his father David. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 1 Chronicles 29:24. All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. 1 Chronicles 29:25. The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king of Israel before him. The general characterization of the reign fully corresponds to the author’s tendency to note only the bright aspects (cf. verse 1 Chr 29:24 with 1 Kgs 1:5 and following). However, the remark that he surpassed in his glory the kings before him, that is, Saul and David, is not an exaggeration.

1 Chronicles 29:27. The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. According to (2 Sam 5:5), David reigned in Hebron for 7½ years.